1. Field of the invention
This invention relates to monitoring systems and more particularly to a system that monitors and records the movement of aircraft and their external characteristics and paths during and after landing and take-off from a runway, to detect malfunctions, pilot error, equipment failure or other evidence which might assist in determining the cause of a crash.
2. Description of the prior art
Today's travel oriented society has caused a significant increase in the volume of airline traffic. A concomitant of this increased volume is a higher number of aircraft crashes. A great number of crashes, possibly the majority, occur during the aircrafts' approach, arrival or departure from an airport. Aircraft crashes cost many people their lives every year and lead to substantial economic losses to airlines and insurance companies. If methods were available to facilitate determination of the exact causes of crashes preventative steps could be initiated to eliminate those causes thus reducing the number of crashes.
A recent crash of a Douglas DC-9 in Detroit occurred because one wing of the airplane struck a telephone pole during take-off. The airplane rolled to an inverted position and crashed on an adjacent freeway. The probable cause, determined by investigation and certain assumptions, was that the wing flaps were not placed in the take-off position by the flight crew. The airplane consequently did not have the proper lift and flight characteristics to achieve take-off. However, a pilot in another aircraft in close proximity who was observing the DC-9's take-off roll steadfastly maintained he saw that the flaps were extended. If a visual record of the exterior portion of the aircraft during take-off were available, there would be no contention.
This is one example of the causes of aircraft crashes. Other causes might be a flock of birds becoming engulfed in an aircrafts' engines causing the engines to stall, a small plane striking another aircraft, a fire occurring in the engines, landing gear malfunctioning, or excessive ice building up on the wings or fuselage. Evidence such as whether the aircraft rolled properly after take-off, whether smoke was generated from a particular part of the aircraft or whether the aircraft's exterior mechanics were proper for flight would contribute greatly to the resolution of the causes of aircraft crashes if visually recorded.
Present methods of gathering evidence to determine the cause of crashes have proven to be inadequate. Very often these methods do not answer all the questions concerning the crash. The on-board flight recorder or "black box" which records voice communications of the cockpit and other flight information is the primary source of evidence. This recording along with witness testimony is often the only evidence available. If there is conflicting testimony among witnesses, or if witnesses' testimony conflicts with the "black box" recording the true cause of a crash may never be ascertained.
Causes of some past crashes have remained unsolved because not enough evidence was available to analyze why the crash occurred. Very often there remains unanswered questions regarding the external characteristics of an airplane during a crash. At a minimum, recorded visual data could provide an answer to this question even if no safety precautions resulted therefrom, as in the case of a flock of birds flying into an engine causing it to stall. In this respect, recorded visual data would contribute to the resolution of legal disputes such as whether an airline negligently caused a crash or whether the crash resulted from unforeseen or unavoidable consequences. Thus, a system for gathering and recording visual evidence surrounding aircraft crashes is necessary to help reliably determine their causes.